Over the weekend, the Islamic State (IS) released a video compilation allegedly showing an attack on four USA soldiers in Niger from last October.

An investigation into the incident was completed by the U.S. Africa Command and the report is now being reviewed by U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, according to Manning.

The ISGS militants sprang an ambush on the USA and Nigerien troops, opening fire on them with machine guns and destroying their vehicles with rocket-propelled grenades. It shows one of the soldiers being dragged toward cover and another falling to the ground after being hit; he is later shot again.

Despite the findings, which were provided to the Associated Press, U.S. military brass in Africa won't discuss the facts until the families of four Army soldiers killed are briefed.

A joint Niger-U.S. patrol was attacked near the village of Tongo Tongo in Niger on October 4 past year while on a mission to search for a particular IS member. The remains of three soldiers were found the day of the attack. La David Johnson killed in Niger, West Africa, Oct. 4, 2017. The video was reportedly released on the Telegram messaging application.

The propaganda film begins with still images showing an alleged pledge of allegiance to is leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi by members of the sahel-based group jamaatnusrat al-Islam wal-muslimin (jnim). Part of the recording appears to be taken from the helmet camera of one of the fallen soldiers.

The video seems to suggest that the attack was carried out by is militants. Then, the footage shows the jihadists surrounding him and shooting at point-blank range.

"The patrol was overwhelmed very quickly", said retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Donald Bolduc, "was unable to get situational awareness, was unable to get its bearing, was unable to fall back to a covered and concealed position". The results are expected to be released this month.

"Knowing that they were asked to try and complete and execute this type of mission with that type of equipment, I just could not believe it", Republican Congressman Marc Veasey told CBS news. October's events have led to questions from Congress and others about why the United States has soldiers deployed in Niger, and whether they're safe.

One reason why the general public was caught off guard is the US government has not made clear that USA mission in Niger and other African countries involves combat operations, said Bill Roggio, a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank in Washington. "Why they were asked to continue to go onto this mission I think is something that we all need to find out".

On Monday, Islamic State supporters posted a nine-minute long video of the ambush online.

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